The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday (8/4) approved three final rulemakings aimed at increasing transparency in the commodities markets under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The first rulemaking requires all swaps, whether cleared or not, to be reported to a Swap Data Repository that’s registered with the CFTC so regulators can monitor the market to see if traders are complying with the statute.

Widening price discounts for inland benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil relative to coastal and global crudes has caused significant shifts in past patterns of crude oil and refined product movements within the United States, according to the Energy Information Administration.

With the Brent-WTI spread more than $15 per bbl, shipping economics provide a strong incentive for increasing petroleum movements out of the Gulf Coast, even using high cost modes of transportation such as rail and trucks. Barge, rail and truck transport from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest would likely continue to increase in the absence of new pipelines, EIA said.

Oil demand and prices should continue to climb in the third quarter even with ongoing uncertainty with respect to economic recovery, deficit reduction in the United States and the debt crisis in Europe, according to the quarterly outlook released Aug. 3 by Ernst & Young LLP.

In the first quarter, with expectations for continued economic improvement and as a result of supply disruptions from the Middle East oil prices rose to more than $100 bbl. After peaking in the second quarter, crude prices fell back slightly with the announced stock release by the International Energy Agency on June 23, but started to gain again through July. However, oil prices are again dropping back as the economic recovery loses steam.